(Tre King via Twitter)
After a back-and-forth first half which featured plenty of offense, the Cyclones couldn’t keep up with the Cougars in the second stanza, succumbing to the offensive onslaught. BYU’s 87 points were the most scored by an opponent under the T.J. Otzelberger Era and the most against ISU since 2021.
Keshon Gilbert led the way for the Cyclones, scoring 16 points to go along with four rebounds. Joining Gilbert in double figures was Momcilovic who had 11. Tamin Lipsey had a team-high five assists to go along with nine points while Hason Ward led the team in rebounds with six.
Iowa State shot a respectable 44 percent from the field, however, BYU’s potency from deep doomed the Cyclones as the Cougars cashed in 13 triples, shooting 37 percent from deep to power their 15-point victory.
BYU’s Spencer Johnson scored a career-high 28 points on the night, canning four threes to go along with nine boards and five assists to lead the way for the Cougars. Dallin Hall had a game-high eight assists while big man Aly Khalifa tied for a game-high in boards with nine.
BYU had 21 assists on the night, their 11th game with 20-plus dimes, and led for over 32 minutes of action to snap Iowa State’s two-game win streak.
How It Happened
Both offenses were humming early, as BYU led 13-12 at the first media break of the half. A 5-3 Cyclone run would give ISU the lead, 17-16 thanks to opportunistic defense from the backcourt. Ward converted a pair of baskets during a pivotal stretch, giving ISU an edge through the first ten minutes.
After trading baskets for five minutes, the Cougars wrestled away control with five minutes remaining, taking a 27-26 lead. BYU would finish the half on a 12-9 run to take a four-point lead into halftime as Lipsey just beat the buzzer to trim the Cougar advantage.
The second half was all BYU, as the Cougars jumped out to a fast start, extending their advantage to 10 points just five minutes into the second period. Iowa State was unable to trim the lead to anything past eight points, as BYU kept up the offensive pressure all half, converting open looks from deep and in transition.
The Cougar lead grew to as large as 23 before Iowa State would whittle it away to 15 where the game would end. The loss to the Cougars was Iowa State’s first setback against BYU, as it had previously come into the game 6-0 in the all-time series.
Top Performers
Hason Ward has continued his impressive performances as of late, as the big man made his presence felt tonight, scoring seven points and pulling in six rebounds. Ward had a couple monster sequences in each half that kept the Cyclones energized.
Notes
Tre King made his 500th field goal on the evening.
He is one start away from 100 in his career.
Jackson Paveletzke played in his 50th career game tonight.
Tamin Lipsey also played in his 50th career game tonight.
Keshon Gilbert earned career start number 50 tonight.
Robert Jones eclipsed 850 career points.
Hason Ward went over 550 points in his career.
Up Next
The Cyclones will wrap up their two-game road trip this weekend in Fort Worth, as they are set to face off with No. 19 TCU on Saturday, Jan. 20. Saturday’s game is set to tip off at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
